The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Berlin Airlift - January 28th, 2005

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

Operation Vittles
June 1948 - September 1949

PRELUDE TO CONFLICT

At the end of WWII, a defeated Germany was divided amongst the victors, the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France. The Soviet Union took control of the Eastern half of Germany, the Western half was divided amongst the US, Great Britain, and France. Like the rest of the country, the capital city of Berlin, sitting dead in the middle of the Soviet-controlled Eastern half, was also divided into four parts, one half being Soviet controlled, and the rest divided amongst the others. A four-power provisional government, called the Allied Control Council, was installed in Berlin. This union of governments was to control and rebuild the city of Berlin.



By 1948, it became apparent that the Western Powers (Great Britain, France, and US) plan to rebuild Germany differed from the Soviet Union's plan. Currency, German Unification, Soviet War reparations, and mere ideology were among the many differences the two sides had. There would be no compromise. As a result, Stalin wanted them out of Berlin. In early 1948, tensions between the once former Allies climaxed. On April 9, 1948, Stalin ordered all American Military personnel maintaining communications equipment out of the Eastern Zone (Soviet controlled Berlin). Trains were halted on June 1and June 10. On June 21, the Soviets halted a US Military Supply Train and refused it passage to Berlin. On the 22nd, they placed armed guards aboard, attached a Soviet engine and hauled it back to Western Germany. In a final move to spurn the Americans, British, and French out, on June 24, 1948, all land and water access to West Berlin was cut off by the Soviets. There were to be no more supplies from the West. What was going to happen? Where were the necessary supplies going to come from for the Occupation Forces? For that matter, where were the supplies for the 2,008,943 Berliners going to come from? It was a grave situation.

The Allies were certainly not going to stand for this. Diplomacy failed, Ground invasions were planned, and World War 3 was on the brink of existence. US Military Commander Lucius Clay had developed a plan by which an armed convoy through Soviet Controlled Germany would break the blockade. This action would certainly create a war.

MEAGER BEGINNINGS

However, British Commander Sir Brian Robertson offered an alternative: supply the city by air. A daunting task. Supplying the Occupation forces of 2,2679 was easy, but the entire population? The only aircraft the Americans had available for the task were 5 year old Douglas C-47 Skytrains, which would only hold 3.5 tons each. After some consultation, the decision was made: it was worth a try. Earlier in April, US Forces airlifted in supplies to replace the ones being delayed by the Soviets. This was what became known as the "Little Lift". West Berlin had two airports, Tempelhof, which was Berlin's main airport and located in the American Sector, and Gatow, in the British Sector. Supplies could be airlifted in by C-47 and there was nothing the Soviet Union could do about because in 1945, someone had foresight. On November 30, 1945, it was agreed, in writing, that there would be three 20-mile wide air corridors providing access to the city. These were unarguable.



When the blockade began, the Soviets rejoiced, because they believed the Western powers had only one option, to leave Berlin. But they underestimated the West airlift supplies. Gen. Clay called upon General Curtis E. LeMay, commander of USAFE and asked him if he could haul supplies to Berlin. LeMay responded, "We can haul anything". Two days later Gen. LeMay called upon Brig. Gen. Joseph Smith, Commander of the Wiesbaden Military Post, and appointed him Task Force Commander of an airlift operation estimated to last a few weeks. The only US aircraft initially available were 102 C-47's and 2 C-54 Skymasters. On June 26, the first C-47's landed at Tempelhof Airfield, foreshadowing the great operation that was to come. Smith dubbed the mission "Operation Vittles", because he said "We're haulin' grub." The British called their part "Operation Plane Fare".

It was determined that the city's daily food ration would be 646 tons of flour and wheat; 125 tons of cereal; 64 tons of fat; 109 tons of meat and fish; 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes; 180 tons of sugar; 11 tons of coffee; 19 tons of powdered milk; 5 tons of whole milk for children; 3 tons of fresh yeast for baking; 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables; 38 tons of salt; and 10 tons of cheese. In total, 1,534 tons were needed daily to keep the over 2 million people alive. That's not including other necessities, like coal and fuel. In fact, the largest quantity of anything required was coal. It wasn't needed to heat homes as much as it was necessary for industry. In addition, there was limited electricity, because the city's power plant was located in the Soviet sector, so that was cut off, too. It was determined that in total supplies, 3,475 tons would be needed daily. A C-47 can haul 3.5 tons. In order to supply the people of Berliners, C-47's would have to make 1000 flights each day. Impossible.

Initially, Gen. Clay determined that, with the limited number of airplanes available to him, he could haul about 300 tons of supplies a day, the British effort, was estimated to be capable of 750 tons a day. This leaves a 2,425-ton deficit daily. Realizing that this kind of tonnage could not be achieved using C-47's, Gen. Clay and Gen. LeMay made requests for more C-54's, for they could carry over three times more cargo than C-47's. On June 27, an additional 52 Skymasters were ordered to Berlin.

On June 28, President Truman made a statement that abandoning Berlin was out of the question. He then ordered US B-29 Superfortresses to be stationed at British airfields to show the Soviets that the Western powers were not taking this lightly. We would not abandon these people!



By July 1, C-54's were slowly taking over airlift flights, and they were operating 24 hours a day. Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfort was made exclusive C-54 base, and Wiesbaden was a mix of C-54's and C-47's. To accommodate these two different aircraft, General smith established a block system, giving the bigger, faster C-54's priority. They were also given radio codes to identify each type and the direction it was going. C-47's going East to Berlin were called "Easy", returning C-47's traveling West, were called "Willie". C-54's had the names 'Big Easy' and "Big Willie". Aircraft were also given a spacing of three minutes apart.

The size of the operation had to be increased in order to sufficiently supply this city and keep these people going. It needed to be commanded by someone who had expertise in air transport. That man came in the form of Maj. General William H. Tunner. He was revered as "The transportation expert to end all transportation experts" by LeMay. Tunner had previously established the Ferrying Command in WWII, and successfully organized and commanded the "Hump" operation into China near the end of the war. His reputation was not falsely earned. Tunner hated to see airplanes parked on the ramp not being utilized. This was a waste to him. He longed for efficiency and was about to set the standard for all that followed.

BLACK FRIDAY

Tunner assumed command of airlift operations on July 28, 1948. The airlift had been operating for just over a month. One of the first major changes he made came as a result of "Black Friday". On Friday, August 13, Tunner flew into Berlin to grant an award to Lt. Paul O. Lykins, and airlift pilot who had made the most flights into Berlin up until that time. Weather that day was awful, and conditions in Berlin were impossible. Clouds had lowered to the tops of buildings and heavy rain had disrupted radar. One C-54 had crashed and burned at the end of the runway a second landed behind him and blew its tires trying to stop to avoid hitting the burning C-54. A third ground looped on the auxiliary runway. Pure havoc was reigning supreme. Aircraft were beginning to stack up over Tempelhof and a huge number of airplanes were circling stacked from 3000 to 12000 feet in no visibility conditions. These conditions spur red Tunner to make a fateful decision. He called the tower. "Tunner here, send everyone back to their base and let me know when it's safe to come down". To avoid this stacking problem, a new policy was created. Any aircraft that missed its approach was to continue back to its station via the outgoing center corridor. This created a continuous loop of planes to and from Berlin. If a pilot missed his approach, he would immediately become a departure and head back to his base. The loaded aircraft would get a fresh crew and be sent back as a regular flight. In addition, all aircraft were required to fly by instrument rules to maintain the same speed, interval and altitude. This almost eliminated accidents and became the key to the success of the operation.



Another essential decision was to standardize aircraft, parts, and procedures. It was decided to base these around the C-54. One of the reasons was that it took just as long to unload a 3-1/2 ton C-47 as it did to unload a 10-ton C-54. One of the reasons for this was the slanted floor made truck loading difficult, whereas the C-54 was level and a truck could back up to it and cargo could be unloaded fast. In addition, no pilot was to be away from his aircraft. General Tunner had seen many aircraft sitting idle, loaded and waiting for their crews to return from inside the terminal. He thought this to be a great waste of resources, therefore the order was sent that no pilot should be away from his aircraft from the time it landed until the time it took off from Berlin. Weather and up to date information was brought out to the aircraft while they were being unloaded, so the crews didn't need to go inside the terminal. In addition, several trucks were outfitted as mobile snack bars and staffed by some of the prettiest Berlin girls. This enabled the crews to get coffee, a snack or other goods without having to leave the airplane. This reduced the average turn around time from landing to departing to about 25 minutes.

FLYING THE CORRIDORS

Pilots flying in the corridors encountered numerous problems; one was the erratic German weather. Weather changed so often that it was not uncommon to leave a base in West Germany under ideal conditions, only to find impossible conditions in Berlin. What made it even more treacherous was the approach to Tempelhof. In order to land there, a pilot had to literally fly between the high rise apartment buildings at the end of the runway so he could land. A second runway required a steep drop over a building in order to land soon enough so there was enough runway for braking. All these conditions plus a fully loaded C-54 with a 10 ton cargo load were more than enough for any pilot to handle, especially during the German winter.



Unfortunately, that wasn't all the pilots had to deal with. The Soviets constantly harassed the pilots during the operation. Between 10 August 1948 and 15 August 1949, there were 733 incidents of harassment of airlift planes in the corridors. Acts of soviet pilots buzzing, close flying, shooting near, not at airlift planes were common. Balloons were released in the corridors, flak was not unheard of, radio interference and searchlights in the pilots' eyes were all forms of Soviet harassment in the corridors. However, this did not stop the pilots, the planes kept chugging on in. In spite of all these acts of harassment, no aircraft was shot down during the operation. That would have started a war, and the Soviets did not want that. Especially with B-29's stationed in England. Although the B-29's that were there were not atomic bomb capable, the Soviets did not know that and did not want to find out.



So, the airlift went on. American C-54's were stationed at Rhein-Main, Wiesbaden, Celle and Fassberg in the British Sector. The British flew Lancasters, Yorks, and Hastings aircraft. They even used Sunderland Flying Boats to deliver salt, using Lake Havel in the middle of Berlin for a base. Every month the tonnage increased and soon exceeded the daily requirements. Every day, tonnage records were being set, and the constant drone of airplanes overhead was music to the Berliners ears. Eventually, rations were increased and life in was improving.

THE EASTER PARADE

By April 1949, airlift operations were going rather smoothly, and General Tunner wanted to break up the monotony. He liked the idea of a big event that would show the capabilities of his command, as well as give everyone a big morale boost. He wanted to set a record. In order to do that, much planning was necessary, and it was decided that on Easter Sunday, the only cargo was to be coal. In fact general Tunner wanted to desecrate all previous tonnage records set so far. Secretly, coal was stockpiled for the event. Maintenance schedules were altered so that the maximum number of planes was available. Everyone put in extra effort for this special event. From 12:00PM April 15, to 12:00PM April 16, 1949, crews worked overtime to deliver more tonnage than had ever been delivered in a 24 hour period. When it was over, 12,941 tons of coal had been delivered as a result of 1,383 flights without a single accident. As a matter of fact, as a result, the daily tonnage also increased from 6,729 tons a day befor the Easter Parade, to 8,893 tons per day, an unexpected benefit. This was the straw that broke the camel's back.

THE END OF THE BLOCKADE

On May 12, 1949, the Soviets capitulated. The blockade was over. It was decided to continue supplying Berlin by air in addition to the land routes in order to build up a sufficient supply of goods. The Airlift officially ended on Sept. 30, 1949, fifteen months after its meager beginnings in June of '48. In total, the US delivered 1,783,572.7 tons, while 541,936.9 tons were delivered by the British totaling 2.3 Million tons from 277, 569 total flights to Berlin. C-47's and C-54's alone traveled over 92 million miles in order to do so. These were astounding figures, considering that in the beginning it seemed impossible to even try. Nevertheless, even the greatest operation is not without risk. A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of the operation, including 31 Americans, mostly due to crashes.



The end of the blockade was unexpected; however, as bigger plans were made and bigger planes were set to replace the existing fleet of C-54's. The USAF had already used a C-74 "Globemaster" and one Boeing YC-97A "Stratofreighter" in the airlift, testing the feasibility of heavy-lift transports and their use in a continued operation. The Douglas C-124 "Globemaster II" was coming and the plan was to use C-97's and 124's to continue the operation without as many flights. Fortunately, that was not necessary.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

BTW, if anyone asks, I'm not here. I'm vacuuming, OK?

Of course you are. I'm doing dishes. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

Too easy these days to forget the accomplishments of the previous generations.

Boy ain't that the truth.

[SAMWolf]

Why do cats always come off looking evil?

[Soaring Feather]

Maybe cause like some folks they are. LOL

[SAMWolf]

1986 Christa McAuliffe astronaut/teacher, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Ellison S Onizuka Hawaii, Major USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Francis R Scobee Washington, USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Gregory B. Jarvis Detroit Michigan, payload specialist/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Dr Judith Arlene Resnik Akron OH, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Michael J Smith Beaufort NC, Commander USN, astronaut, dies in Challenger
1986 Ronald E McNair Lake City SC, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster

[PhilDragoo]

The C-47 transport, commonly referred to as "Gooney Bird," was one of four weapons singled out by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as the most instrumental in helping the US win World War II. (The others were the bazooka, the jeep, and the atomic bomb.)

On to Berlin.

During the Berlin Airlift in 1948, every C-54 the USAF had was pressed into service to supply the isolated city.

General William H. Tunner was named "Aviation Man of the Year" in 1949 and accepted the honor in the name of the men and women of the Berlin Airlift. He retired from the Air Force in 1960 and published an autobiography in 1964, OVER THE HUMP. The book is out of print, though copies may be found in libraries. Chapter V recounts his experiences during the Berlin Airlift.

Over The Hump
By William H. Tunner
Lieutenant General, United States Air Force
Chapter V: The Berlin Airlift

Friday, Black Friday, Friday the thirteenth of August, 1948, is a date many of us who served on the Berlin Airlift wish we could forget. It was a day of black scudding clouds, of driving rain. Weather conditions were not too bad at Wiesbaden as we took off for Berlin, but as we gained altitude to dear the Harz Mountains we soon ran into those heavy, thick German clouds that later caused Bob Hope to remark, "Soup I can take-but this stuff's got noodles in it!" Lieutenant Colonel Sterling P. Bettinger was piloting my C-54, good old Number 5549, which had served me so well on the Hump, and my old friend Red Forman was copilot. I sat on the jump seat behind them and helped them peer at the dark gray nothing ahead through the rain-washed windshield.

The R-1830 was used on B-24s, C-47s and the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, until it was
phased out by Grumman. Pratt and Whitney built 13,464 R-1830-90C engines for the C-47 aircraft.

The R-2000 was an R-1830 with cylinders with a 5.75 inch bore to increase total displacement to 2,000 cubic inches. The R-2000 was designed for the DC-4/C-54 which first flew in 1942.

Unable to locate either a C-154 or an R-3360. Perhaps a C-124 and an R-4360 will suffice.

The R-4360 Wasp Major was developed during WWII though it only saw service late in the war. It represents the most technically advanced and complex reciprocating aircraft engine produced in large numbers in the U.S. The passing of the KC-97 in the late 1970s marked the end of the large piston engine and the turbocharger in the U.S. Air Force.

The prototype C-124, the fifth C-74 with a deeper fuselage and clamshell nose loading doors, first flew in 1949 and entered service in 1950. Around 450 were built. Used in conjunction with the Douglas C-133, the Globemaster II remained in service until replaced by the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy in 1970.

During its short career, the C-74 participated in the Berlin Airlift, set a record for being the first aircraft to cross the North Atlantic with more than 100 passengers, and was flown at a gross weight of 86 tons - the most weight for any powered aircraft up to that time. The fifth Globemaster had the distinction of being the prototype for the plane that would replace the C-74: the C-124 Globemaster II.

The first flight by a C-124 took place on Nov. 27, 1949 and deliveries of C-124As began in May 1950.

1978 "Fantasy Island" starring Ricardo Montalban premieres on ABC TV

"Tattoo"'s three piece white tuxedo with satin lapels worn by Herve Villechaize in various episodes. He wears the vest, sans coat, in the opening credits when he rings the bell and yells "The plane....the plane!"

Good Boxer

Bad Boxer

[SAMWolf]

Evening stand watie.

Free Dixie!

[SAMWolf]

Evening PE.

Check your FR-Mail

[SAMWolf]

That is one big cat!!

[SAMWolf]

Evening CT.

We did have more nukes that the Soviets at that time.

[SAMWolf]

Evening w_over_w

[SAMWolf]

Eveing Victoria.

Nice graphic. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Evening Phil Dragoo.

Thanks for adding more background to the Berlin Airlift.

Good Boxer - Bad Boxer

LOL!

[Valin]

It's a curse! Being sooo sensitive and all.

[Valin]

Berlin "Candy Bomber"
http://www.hill.af.mil/museum/history/candy.htm

One of the many American pilots to fly the USAF C-54 Skymaster during the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 ("Operation Vittles") was Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen of Provo, Utah. During the operation he became known as the "Candy Bomber" because he repeatedly dropped candy to German children from his aircraft on approach to the runways.

The idea grew out of a chance meeting between Halvorsen and several German school children at the perimeter fence of Tempelhof Airport. While waiting for his aircraft to be unloaded one day he decided to walk to the end of the runway and photograph other C-54s making their landing approach to the runway, a tricky descent over several buildings outside the Tempelhof grounds. While standing at the barbed wire fence he struck up a conversation with the German children gathered outside to watch the giant airplanes land. The hungry children asked if Halvorsen had any gum or candy, and he eagerly gave them two pieces of gum that he happened to be carrying in his pocket. He promised to bring them more gum and candy on his next flight into the airport, saying that he would drop it to them as he passed over them while landing. When asked how they would known which of the huge airplanes was his, he said he would "wiggle his wings" as he approached their position.

True to his word, on his next mission to Tempelhof Airport, on final approach to the runway Halvorsen "wiggled his wings" and had the Flight Engineer push three bundles of sweets through the flare chute on the C-54 flightdeck. (Halvorsen had gathered the candy by talking other pilots into donating their Candy Ration Cards to the effort.) The three small parcels floated down on tiny, homemade handkerchief parachutes, but Halvorsen could not see whether the children caught the packages due to the business of landing. Later, as he taxied the empty C-54 to the end of the runway to depart the airfield, he looked to the crowd of children at the fence. Three white handkerchiefs waved back at him enthusiastically!

Over the next few weeks Halvorsen repeated the airdrops to an ever-growing audience of German children at the fence. Soon he even began to receive letters at the airport, addressed simply to "Uncle Wiggly Wings -- Tempelhof," requesting special airdrops at other locations within the city! Local newspapers picked up the story and his fame began to spread. Back at his home base Halvorsen began to receive mail from other pilots who wanted to help. Candy was donated, handkerchief parachutes were made by volunteers, and the tiny parcels began to fall all over Berlin.

On a brief trip back to the United States Halvorsen was asked by an interviewer what he needed to continue his popular "Candy Bomber" operation. He jokingly remarked "boxcars full of candy!" Sure enough, shortly after his return to Germany a traincar loaded with 3,000 pounds of chocolate bars arrived for "Uncle Wiggly Wings." Thousands of pounds of candy continued to arrive from the United States to support the airdrops. Other pilots volunteered to drop the packages of sweets across the city. After several letters were received from East Berlin "Uncle Wiggly Wings" even made a few drops to school yards there, angering Soviet officials for the "attempted subversion of young minds." When asked about it Halvorsen commented "kids are kids everywhere." He even mailed packages of candy to disappointed children who wrote to say they had never been able to reach the "sweet gifts from the sky" before others got all the loot. No one was to be missed by Utah's "Candy Bomber."

[Valin]

Candy Bomber still delivers
http://www.usafe.af.mil/berlin/uns99207.htm
Released: May 19, 1999

By Tech. Sgt. Joe Bela
USAFE News Service

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS)-- From the Berlin Airlift, 50 years ago, to Operation Shining Hope, the Candy Bomber still delivers.

One man's kind gesture at the end of World War II blossomed into a major operation with one mission -- to airdrop candy to the children of war-torn Berlin.

For the Candy Bomber, retired Col. Gail Halvorsen, the legacy continues.

Halvorsen, one of the Berlin Airlift's most famous figures and the impetus behind Operation "Little Vittles," visited Albania Tuesday to make yet another delivery to the Kosovar Albanian refugees fleeing Serb oppression in Kosovo.

The Candy Bomber made the 4 1/2-hour trek to Tirana aboard a C-130 transport plane from Ramstein's 37th Airlift Squadron. While there, he saw similarities between the nearly 600 U.S. servicemembers supporting humanitarian operations and the airmen who did the same for West Berlin in 1948.

"I saw the same spark in the folks here today. It's reflected in the crews and the ground folks," Halvorsen said. "I was impressed with their professionalism, how they went about their tasks and worked together as a team."

It's the same thing as the Berlin Airlift, he said in reference to Operation Shining Hope. "It's the spirit ... of helping people we don't even know and risking our lives to do it."

Halvorsen's trip included a 30-minute ride aboard a Navy CH-46 helicopter to Camp Hope where he delivered school supplies, toys and candy to the children. The U.S.-built facility is currently home for more than 2,000 refugees, and is expected to shelter up to 20,000 people upon completion.

Although no children had heard of the Candy Bomber, their curiosity alone was enough to draw a crowd. "They just ran out. It was the same in Berlin," said Halvorsen. "Kids naturally know GIs are a 'soft touch' for gum and candy.

"I was amazed to find these children -- who'd been sleeping out in the open just a few weeks before, deprived of their homes -- so upbeat. We have to take a lesson from that," he said.

"These children taught me a lot today. Your heart bleeds for them, but when you see them adapting like that, it renews your faith," he said. "If you have the right attitude, well then, the whole world is a different color. These kids have that attitude."

For Halvorsen, the visit was a great experience he'll never forget -- an experience like the one in Berlin 50 years ago.

The Berlin Airlift and Operation Shining Hope have one thing in common. These (the German and Kosovar) people sacrificed the comforts of life because they believed in the same principle and that's freedom," he said.

"They may not have had enough to eat, but they put aside the hunger for the principle of being free," he said. "We need to understand the trials of people like them and learn to have an appreciation for the little things in life."

[snippy_about_it]

I agree. We did what had to be done.

[Iris7]

I must still be in shock over loosing my R-4360, since I wrote R-3360 instead. Sorry, all.

The Air Force Museum specimen looks well kept. Perhaps I can drop by for a visit.

[PhilDragoo]

It's on wheels--just come with your trailer hitch. You've already retrofitted the overhead door in your living room, right?

[Iris7]

You know, bringing fuel to the cold, making shelter, warm clothes, food, clean water, and chocolate bars and Doublemint gum to the kids is just as much a part of war as the killing. Me, the killing and dying got tiresome and sad long ago, but the stories of the other sort of war bring cheer.